


Clueless

by Legs (InsanityRule)



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Clueless Gavin, I guess this is considered canon divergence now, M/M, but I started this before the season 3 premier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-06-05 05:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6690763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsanityRule/pseuds/Legs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The feeling is friendship.</p><p>-</p><p>Perhaps it isn't just friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clueless

If he is being completely honest, and  _ if  _ he's also feeling a bit spiteful, if Gavin were to rate his experiences related to sharing his CIO status with one Nelson “Bag Head” Bighetti, he would most likely circle a number no lower than 2, but certainly no higher than a 5.

 

It's the attitude, he's certain of this after so many days watching Bag Head laze about in their ( _ his _ ) office instead of getting actual work done, and Gavin is mentally preparing his speech for the day that the wunderkind Bag Head finally fucks up the wrong project and the board, after much humility and apologizing, offers to make him the  _ only  _ CIO of Hooli and put Bag Head back in his place at the bottom rung of the ladder, somewhere that puts him out of reach of any of the more important projects at the company.

 

Which is why, after the end of week two, Gavin is surprised to walk into the office early in the morning, right after a calming session of meditation in the studio on campus, and find his co-CIO strung out with at least four giant cups (really it's a terrible understatement given the  _ massive  _ size of his soda containers) empty on his desk and papers strewn across the wooden surface.

 

“Fuck, morning, say, you haven't seen like, okay so funny story-” Gavin holds up a hand to stop this train of thought before it gets out of hand.

 

“Bag Head-”

 

“Um, Nelson, and it's Big… never mind,” he drops his face onto the desk with a quiet thunk and groans. “Nelson.”

 

“Right,  _ Nelson _ ,” he sneers at the sheer  _ unprofessional  _ nature of this exchange, at the state of Nelson's desk, at  _ Nelson  _ as he sits up and pulls a sticky note off his forehead. “You had a  _ funny  _ story to tell me?”

 

“Right,” he slips out of his chair and, not terribly sturdy on his feet, stumbles over to the giant window and presses his face against the glass, smearing what looks (and smells) like a day and a half's worth of natural oils over the pristine surface. Disgusting. “So, late night last night, I didn't go home, since I guess there was this deadline, and it's  _ today  _ and I can't find one of the forms to approve XYZ's budget, and they're  _ counting  _ on me down there-”

 

“Just request a  _ new  _ form, Nelson,” Gavin takes a second to glance at the disaster zone on Nelson's desk before deeming the whole thing a lost cause.  _ He  _ never lets even a single sheet of paper sit around on his desk; he's not even sure what some of the papers  _ are,  _ although one has a very distinct,  _ form-like  _ appearance. But he'll let Nelson find it later; a lesson in neatness will hit harder if he makes the discovery himself. “Better yet, use this opportunity to the company's advantage. Suggest to the board, with my support and credit to my contribution of course, that we move all internal approval documents to a paperless form.”

 

“Paperless?” He turns to Gavin, clearly exhausted, clearly  _ not  _ going to be productive today. Gavin nods to  _ hopefully  _ get him to move on to whatever else is littering his desk and allow him to start his own work. Instead Nelson laughs, which is odd given the lack of any form of joke, but also clearly  _ losing his mind  _ trying to work on so little sleep. “Shit where were you last night?”

 

“At home,  _ asleep _ ,” and properly  _ showered  _ but he holds his tongue. Although it's possible he's projecting a bit of disapproval Nelson's way. “Has it ever occurred to you that, possibly,  _ waiting  _ until the last minute to discover you've lost a form is less than ideal? That,  _ possibly _ , this could have been addressed, or fuck,  _ found  _ before you had to force yourself to stay up all night?” From the droop in his shoulders and the way Nelson is now  _ refusing  _ to look him in the eye (another sign of unprofessionalism, one Gavin may just have to  _ berate  _ out of him if they're ever going to make appearances together) he's going to guess Nelson has  _ not  _ had this epiphany, and without Gavin's guidance it's likely that he never would.

 

“I'm no good at this shit, XYZ was  _ so  _ much easier, and way more fun.”

 

“Yes, adult responsibilities are  _ hard  _ if you don't want them blowing up in your face.” Gavin decides that regardless of what he starts doing with his morning Nelson is going to, most likely, fall asleep in his chair or one of the couches in the office, so he sits at his desk so at least  _ one  _ of them can get something productive started before the board- fuck. “Speaking of, you do remember we have a  _ board meeting  _ today, yes? The important, see how this new system is working meeting?”

 

“Fuck...” Nelson draws it out and, very over dramatically, flops forward so he's lying on the floor with his face pressed into the carpet. Clearly this guy hasn't had  _ any  _ professional experience, or left his house with the intent of making a good impression regarding his maturity and capability when under pressure. “I'm dead.”

 

“You're not  _ dead,  _ you're tired,” Gavin assumes this is what he meant but being literal is also something Nelson should start integrating into his time at work. And he doesn't get any response aside from a quiet snore, because  _ of course  _ Nelson could manage to fall asleep in the middle of panicking. Maybe it's a stress response, or maybe it's a case of narcolepsy, but either way it's giving Gavin some alone time to collect his thoughts on this little partnership of theirs.

 

If he wanted, and a part of him really really does, Gavin could tank this meeting, insist that Nelson's genius is a fraud so clever it even fooled  _ him,  _ and the board could have him removed and Gavin reinstated as sole CIO of Hooli. Really it wouldn't be a difficult task, given Nelson's current state and the state of his desk. But there's a feeling Gavin's fighting against, earlier he assumed his cook fucked up his morning smoothie and gave him indigestion, but he's coming to terms with the thought that he might be a sliver of guilt. It's due to his excellent wordsmithing and constant praise that Nelson is in over his head. As an olive branch of sorts, Gavin decides he'll take some extra steps to guide Nelson away from this path of ruin he's currently considering.

 

Nelson is unrefined, unskilled putty. That's the kindest way to put things, and honestly it isn't  _ bad  _ so much as it's extra  _ work,  _ but Gavin has molded others into successful, confident people under his leadership, and really, this is a chance to provide his protege with some hands on, one-on-one personal improvement lessons. It's not like this job is  _ hard  _ for Gavin to manage, and the more he trains Nelson, the more he can hand over little, less important tasks to him.

 

And so, after an hour of mental preparation and an extra ten minutes to wake Nelson from an apparently deep sleep, Gavin finds himself in front of the board explaining how  _ smoothly  _ things are running, how  _ intelligent  _ the board was in making this decision, and how  _ grateful  _ he is to have such a competent young man by his side. Briefly during this meeting Gavin considers leaving the tech world behind to become an actor because anyone that's spent an hour in the same room with Nelson knows everything he's said is a crock of absolute  _ shit,  _ but the board seems pleased that, at the very least, the two seem to be getting along.

 

“And so, my final conclusion about this new system is overwhelmingly positive. A two-man system, excuse me, two  _ person _ system provides us both with the opportunity to spearhead a major project here at Hooli while ensuring that neither of us becomes overwhelmed with administrative responsibilities. I think, for next meeting, a detailed presentation about which  _ specific  _ administrative duties each of us is in charge of will help clarify for everyone in a more tangible form, with the added bonus of letting the company know which of us to attempt to contact if there are any problems moving forward.”

 

He pauses, offering an opening for Nelson to add his opinion, but he only nods along with Gavin's, agreeing wholeheartedly, and Gavin takes back the floor. “Thank you all for taking the time to meet with us, and unfortunately the two of us have meeting with our respective teams, so please field any further questions to our assistants and we'll address them later today.”

 

The board stands and the room is temporarily filled with positive chatter and a few words of appreciation towards Gavin for meeting during this busy time. Gavin accepts all praise and Nelson is silent, and most likely still asleep even though he's upright, and the entirety of the board filters out of the main doors without him moving an inch. He looks unwell. Ramrod straight, that's the phrase he was looking for when they first entered the room, when Nelson froze in place in front of the board and couldn't even manage a greeting. Gavin is partway through forming a comment about Nelson looking pale when his eyes roll back and Gavin, thankfully possessing lightning quick reflexes, has to help ease him onto the floor as he faints.

 

“This is, unfortunately, rather unsurprising,” Gavin mutters to himself as he eases into a more comfortable sitting position. He puts in a page to the medical team and infrequently nudges Nelson's shoulder while they wait.

 

Even though Gavin would have been more than capable of helping he allows one of the medical team to help bring Nelson around. She makes Nelson drink a bottle of water and eat some fries from the cafeteria. He's still quiet while she finishes up helping him, although now he's most likely  _ embarrassed  _ about the whole ordeal, and this is confirmed the moment they're alone in the office.

 

“Fuck me, seriously,” Nelson lies down on the couch near the wall opposite the window and pulls a pillow over his face. “Did I seriously  _ faint  _ just now?”

 

“You did, and honestly I'm surprised you didn't do it in front of the board, although waiting until they left the room was probably a good call on your part.” Gavin sits at his desk and starts leafing through a folder that his assistant must have put there during the meeting. “I'm assuming this has something to do with your lack of sleep, although if you have something a bit more concerning in your medical history I'd recommend cutting some of the caffeine out of your diet.”

 

“Why didn't you tell the truth?” Gavin sets the papers aside and steeples his fingers. “Seriously, you could have ripped me a new one back there, and you would have been  _ right  _ but, you didn't.”

 

“I did not.”

 

Nelson sits up and asks, “ _ Why _ ?”

 

“Do you  _ want  _ me to?” Nelson shakes his head and Gavin waves a hand in a 'there you go' manner.

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yes,  _ oh,  _ Nelson. I have some amount of compassion, and I've concluded during some of my meditation sessions that there  _ might  _ be evidence to suggest you didn't exactly  _ ask  _ to be put into this position, and because of this I've decided to take you under my wing.”

 

“Wh-what now?”

 

“You're inexperienced, but that doesn't make you unteachable. I'll set aside a half hour a day to offer you some guidance, and in return you have to shape the  _ fuck  _ up. Starting with the disaster you've turned into your desk.”

 

“Yeah, alright. I can get behind this,” Nelson nods along, smiles, and almost immediately yawns. “But uh, I am  _ super  _ beat so-”

 

“Sleep,” Gavin watches Nelson lie back down and settle so he's facing the back of the couch. “And sleeping is going to be a requirement for the future if you're going to make any improvements, so  _ stop  _ staying here overnight. We'll focus on-” he hears a snore and shakes his head. “Typical.”

 

-

 

For all his confusion and lack of any sort of knowledge about running a company, Gavin is pleasantly surprised to discover Nelson isn't completely hopeless. Gavin hits the organization and prioritization lessons hard and early, and by the end of the week Nelson's desk no longer looks like a tree vomited on it and he no longer has bags under his eyes.

 

“Lesson three,” Gavin starts as he stirs the protein powder into his smoothie, “memos.”

 

“Right,” Nelson stirs his own drink, although Gavin is fairly certain he isn't adding anything into his sodas, probably a nervous habit, “so, are those really important, or can we go with a paperless option there too?”

 

“Thankfully, I already moved memos to a fully electronic system, and  _ yes,  _ they're important.” Nelson starts to groan and Gavin shushes him. “They're  _ important,  _ and if you expect any of your employees to understand new policies or decisions you better start practicing writing simple, concise sentences that  _ anyone  _ can understand.”

 

“Fine, so what, they're kind of like announcements in school?”

 

“ _ Yes,  _ I suppose that's an apt comparison.” Gavin is pleasantly surprised by that; Nelson is able to find comparisons the layman would be able to both understand and relate to, something that will benefit him during his memo writing. “And in using these 'announcements' you can avoid confusion by ensuring all important parties receive the same information at the same time.”

 

“What if I don't  _ know  _ who needs it?”

 

“That's when you send it to all department heads.” Gavin leans back in his chair at their small table and laces his fingers together. “And sometimes even  _ I  _ don't know who should and shouldn't know something, so erring on the side of caution is usually a good practice.”

 

“Is there like, a class you took to learn all this? I feel like there should be if there isn't.”

 

“I taught myself, and built this company from scratch, and that kind of experience can't really be taught, but luckily I have the skills necessary to impart some of my knowledge to you.”

 

“Okay.” Nelson looks out the window, thoughtful and pensive, a good look to start perfecting early. He'll look nice on the cover of a magazine some day as the new young, humble, and possibly eccentric CIO. Eccentric is a good look on him, and Gavin makes a mental note to offer Nelson use of his personal stylist if he ever wants to update his image. “Are we going to extend this lesson to the office? Maybe do one together?”

 

“If there's something we should write a memo about, yes.” And he already has something in mind because they're going to be doing a little construction to make the XYZ labs a bit more fireproof, and one of the entrances will be closed. “You could also look up examples online.”

 

“Yeah, but you've actually  _ done  _ them, you know? For Hooli. And you understand what the hell I'm asking better than a Hooli search.”

 

Gavin is pleased by this answer, and makes a note to praise Nelson in return, when he does something praiseworthy of course.

 

-

 

Nelson proves, time and again, that even though he isn't the  _ fastest  _ learner that he is at least dedicated to self-improvement, and Gavin actually finds himself looking forward to the half hour they spend in the Hooli cafe in the same building as their office.

 

“I need to stay with XYZ today. They're doing a like, tech show in a few weeks.”

 

Which is why he is  _ not  _ terribly thrilled about this change to their routine, but Gavin admits that he  _ should  _ spend some time with Nucleus, and if they both get this out of the way today then they'll only miss out on one lesson. “I  _ suppose  _ you're doing well enough that missing one day won't impact your performance too terribly.”

 

“Oh, I was going to see if you wanted to stay a half hour later, you know, just do it after work. But yeah, I guess I can miss one day. You  _ did  _ say I shouldn't stay too late.”

 

Gavin frowns, disappointed, because, well he's not sure why but he's going to assume he's disappointed that Nelson would try to backslide like that after so many days of improvement. Staying late is less than ideal, especially with Nelson already prone to over-stimulating himself with caffeine and sugar, probably completely fucking up his sleep schedule without any outside help. It's for the best that they maintain their routine.

 

Although they're  _ still  _ breaking the routine by not meeting at all, but it isn't a big deal. He has a team to run, and Nelson is already ambling across the room towards the exit closest to XYZ's lab space.

 

The moment Gavin steps foot into the Nucleus workspace he can tell something is different, because he might forget a few faces every once and awhile but he is  _ certain  _ that the young man with glasses across the room is new to this team. And after a short meeting where Gavin merely observes he learns a few things that make him want to leave the space to take some time to meditate.

 

The new guy,  _ Pete,  _ is young but not inexperienced, and his main purpose is to help with their scaling up for mass use.

 

Gavin  _ thought  _ he was clear with HR when he spoke to them about certain  _ aversions  _ Gavin has developed after some less than pleasant events in his past, but given the appearance of  _ Pete  _ he's going to assume his words didn't stick and makes a note in his to do list to go to HR and explain, in simple terms, that he would  _ prefer  _ if they used more discretion when hiring new people onto teams he is directly involved with on a daily basis.

 

He spends the rest of his time with the team contemplating (brooding) in the back of the space, watching as the rest of the team gets Pete acclimated to his new workspace. And after an hour, plus a short update with Jason and Aly, Gavin leaves the Nucleus workspace and returns to his shared office.

 

“Oh, hey Gavin,” Nelson waves as Gavin stomps over to his desk. “Something wrong?”

 

“No, just some new staff, took longer than expected with the team.” Gavin sits with a sigh; he's feeling rather put out about the whole ordeal downstairs and would prefer some quiet time to process all the disruptions to his routine. Nelson is watching him, possibly waiting for an explanation, but Gavin keeps his thoughts to himself and Nelson eventually turns back to his computer.

 

Gavin spends the next half hour staring out the window behind Nelson's desk, and the only thing that breaks his vow of silence is the obvious confusion and distress evident on Nelson's face as he attempts to write a memo about the tech fair.

 

-

 

Before Pete was hired onto the Nucleus team he could count on one hand the number of times he found Nelson down in the Nucleus workspace.

 

After Pete's first week he swears he's seen Nelson down here at least once a day, sometimes twice. And yes, Pete is a friendly and talkative person, agreeable, but that alone doesn't explain Nelson's sudden interest in the team's progress.

 

“Hey Gavin,” Nelson pulls up a chair as he begins his  _ second  _ visit to the team today, “going well?”

 

“Yes,” he raises one eyebrow and watches Nelson watch Pete walk across the room, and he huffs as indigestion starts making itself apparent somewhere in the center of his chest. “we've gotten a few bugs worked out of the framework, and Jason- Nelson  _ eye contact  _ is generally expected during a conversation.”

 

“Huh? Sorry,” Nelson has the sense to look embarrassed, which he  _ should be _ , given the lack of attention he's giving Gavin right now. “XYZ's pretty much ready and the office is boring when it's empty.”

 

“I'm about done down here. We could go hammer out that schedule for the speakers at the conference.”

 

“Yeah, sure,” Nelson nods. “I don't have to speak then right?”

 

“Not unless you've improved that habit of rambling,” Gavin stands and motions towards the door.

 

They get out into the hallway before Nelson exclaims, “shit, uh, left my ID in there. I'll meet you upstairs okay?”

 

Gavin turns and watches Nelson trot back into the room, and  _ maybe  _ he noticed the lanyard poking out of Nelson's back pocket, but he decides to keep his comments to himself for now.

 

-

 

The tech fair and conference both pass without any unwanted excitement, and Nelson continues to improve his CIO skill set with Gavin's guidance. He also continues to visit the Nucleus workspace, though less frequently following the ID incident. And now, after two full months of lessons and continued guidance on Gavin's part, and Nelson's relentless determination to not be a complete failure, he is, unfortunately, forced to admit something that will put an end to their current routine.

 

“Nelson, although I hate to admit it, I'm afraid I've run out of lessons at this time.” And Nelson doesn't look terribly disappointed by this news; he's certainly in a better mood than Gavin. “But if I think of anything else we can always start up again.”

 

“Cool, guess that makes us equals right?”

 

Gavin opens his mouth to argue, but he can't, because really wasn't that the goal all along? To get Nelson on his level? “I suppose.”

 

And really, he  _ has  _ been handing over more and more responsibilities for Nelson to manage, and it's been at least a full week since he's checked up on any of them, let alone some of the more important, budgetary responsibilities he handed over two weeks ago. Nelson has truly, honestly improved to the point where Gavin can confidently call him his equal, even if he does still tend to ramble during less important speeches.

 

“Guess you're a good teacher,” Nelson smiles. Gavin nods and accepts that his time teaching Nelson is over  _ because _ he's such a good teacher. “Really though, thanks for all your help. I'm going to buy you dinner sometime okay? As a thank you.”

 

He smiles, pleased Nelson wants to offer Gavin compensation for his time. “Well, I'm free this Friday, if you're available.”

 

“Oh, no can do, I have a date Friday, actually.” Gavin feels his smile slip into a frown. “Yeah, should be fun.”

 

“I wasn't aware that you were looking.”

 

“Oh, well, I wasn't, but it's easier when you meet at work.” He chuckles. “But I guess I should brush up on HR policies if it goes well. Say, maybe that can be another lesson.”

 

Gavin goes to a quiet head space while Nelson chatters and starts putting the pieces together. Nelson down in the Nucleus workspace. Pete, the new guy, chatting with Nelson on a regular basis. The 'forgotten' ID charade.

 

“Pete.” Nelson blushes,  _ fucking  _ blushes, and Gavin scowls. “Seriously?”

 

“He's a nice guy,” Nelson covers his face. “Jesus you're not like, a  _ homophobe  _ or anything are you?”

 

“Don't be ridiculous. You're comfortable with yourself, and that is admirable.”

  
  


“Okay, well, yeah, that's good,” he rubs his face, “but hey, I might be free Saturday, or maybe Sunday?”

 

“I'm  _ busy _ ,” Gavin replies, even though he definitely  _ isn't.  _ “Maybe another time.”

 

“Yeah uh, okay.” Nelson grabs his bag. “I should go, but, see you in the office?”

 

“Sure,” Gavin replies, stiff and unhappy, and Nelson leaves with a wave.

 

He spends half of the rest of the day in meditation, and the other half sitting silently at his desk, ignoring the concerned looks from Nelson and focusing on his computer monitor instead.

 

-

 

“Say, Gavin? We're starting quarterly reports soon, and I don't have any idea what I'm doing.”

 

Gavin can't remember the last time they spoke, and he supposes this a good enough reason to end this silent treatment. “Bring your chair over.”

 

For most of the morning Gavin explains what it means to complete a quarterly report, what the results of the report means for the company, and how they can use that information to improve things for the next quarter. No small talk about their respective weekends, no thoughts to that dinner Gavin keeps canceling, just polite, if a bit awkward, business talk about the pending reports.

 

“So um, you free this Friday or...”

 

Gavin briefly considers accepting, but a quick glance at Nelson lets Gavin see a faint bruise (hickey) on his neck, most likely due to his recreational meet-ups with a certain coder downstairs, and he changes his mind. “I have a retreat. And I'm sure you'd rather spend time with your new  _ friend _ .”

 

“Oh, right, okay. Maybe another time.”

 

Their discussion of quarterly reports ends shortly after this exchange, and Gavin stands and looks out the window to clear his thoughts.

 

_ Obviously  _ he's upset about this because Nelson is being reckless, dating someone who is his employee, and not even being careful enough to make sure he  _ isn't  _ getting marks on his neck like a teenager. They have a good thing here, a sturdy partnership, and Nelson is risking getting fired if he doesn't at least disclose the relationship to HR. Yes, this is what's bothering him, and Gavin knows how to fix this.

 

“Nelson,” he turns around and walks over to Nelson's desk. “I have a few questions about your little… relationship.”

 

“Look, Gavin-”

 

“You have a  _ hickey _ , Nelson.” He turns beat red and covers up his neck with his hands. “And if you're planning on keeping your  _ job _ , I suggest you let me help.”

 

“Fuck, yeah okay.” Nelson pulls his chair back to Gavin's desk and sits down and Gavin follows his lead. “So, what should I do exactly?”

 

“First, disclose this relationship to HR. Even if it doesn't last, HR should know that you're both consenting to this relationship.” Nelson nods along, but he's looking a bit lost. “I'll write this down for you.”

 

“Yeah probably a good idea.”

 

“Second, use your  _ fucking  _ head and avoid getting hickeys on your  _ fucking  _ neck.” Gavin's never been fond of them in the first place, and seeing the mark on Nelson's neck is making him feel vaguely sick. “It's unprofessional, and honestly how old are you? The answer is old enough to stop getting hickeys.”

 

“...Right.”

 

“Nelson,” he grabs Nelson's upper arms gently, just to reassure him, “I'm telling you this to  _ help  _ you.”

 

“Yeah, I know that.” Nelson looks up from whatever spot he's found interesting on the floor, and Gavin is pleased to see some of the sad droop around his eyes has smoothed to a more neutral expression. “I'll talk to him later. Friday, I guess, since I'm free.”

 

“The sooner, the better.”

 

-

 

On the following Monday Nelson walks into the office distracted and not quite unhappy, but not his usual carefree self, and Gavin makes a mental note to ask if he isn't forthcoming with why he's apparently feeling off.

 

He doesn't have a lot of patience so he asks Nelson almost immediately. “Have a nice weekend?”

 

“Uh, sure,” Nelson shrugs. “Guess I got dumped but-”

 

“Come again?”

 

“Uh, yeah.” He sounds somewhat bewildered, obviously because this was unexpected. Nelson sits at his desk with a thump, making his chair creak in protest when he throws his weight onto it. “Yeah, he, I guess the whole, boss-employee thing was only okay when neither of us brought it up.”

 

“ _ Really _ ?”

 

“Yeah? I mean, I don't think it would've lasted anyway. We have like, nothing in common. Don't worry about it, I'm good.”

 

Gavin isn't exactly sure how to proceed, because he can't  _ fire  _ Pete unless he's actually done something  _ wrong,  _ and that doesn't include breaking up with one of the CIOs of the company. But Nelson doesn't actually seem all that upset over the whole thing. Still, towards the end of the day Gavin subtlety mentions not having any plans, and it's about a minute after that Nelson asks if Gavin will finally let him buy dinner to thank him for the help.

 

“So I'm thinking,” Nelson explains as he waves around a piece of a breadstick, “that maybe, I don't know, I should probably date someone on like,  _ my  _ level, you know?” Gavin agrees, and he's proud Nelson is learning from this experience. It  _ would  _ be better if he dated someone on his level. “Or at least, not one of my employees.”

 

“It does have a few benefits.” Gavin pops a grape into his mouth. “No one feels inadequate, for one. There's less HR paperwork.”

 

“Ha, yeah, I was thinking of like, having the same goals or hobbies, but I guess those are perks too.”

 

“Also important,” Gavin agrees, offering that subtle praise by supporting Nelson's contribution. Nelson grins and turns back to his food.

 

-

 

They start going to dinner more frequently, per Gavin's request, because they're busy enough during the day that a visit to the cafe downstairs is bothersome but he's still curious how Nelson feels he's faring as CIO. He tells himself it's so he can catch any issues early, because Nelson tends to go into detail about the days prior and more than once Gavin has noted something potentially troublesome, i.e. the little 'power surges' he noticed in the XYZ lab. But he saves the last few minutes to discuss life as a whole, to end the dinner on a more personal, friendly note.

 

Last time Nelson mentioned an arcade he's been going to with his team after work hours, and how he's always enjoyed playing the classic cabinets because the new games are overwhelming with detail or always taken.

 

Gavin mentions during their next dinner that he has a sizable collection of machines in his home, that he often finds himself bored by the newer games or frustrated at all the hand holding newer games have these days.

 

“Wait, so,  _ how  _ many machines?”

 

“I'd have to count again,” which is a lie because Gavin vividly remembers  _ every  _ machine he's ever bought, “but I'm going to say 35.”

 

“ _ Holy shit,  _ can I  _ see _ ?”

 

“They still  _ play _ , Nelson,” his eyes get big, excited at the prospect, and even though a part of Gavin wants to tease him by saying they're off limits he instead finds himself offering, “Does Friday work for you?”

 

“ _ Fuck yes _ !” Nelson nods along, hair flopping into his eyes from the force of his head shakes. He can't remember if he's ever seen Nelson smile quite so  _ big  _ and he's pleased that he's the cause.

 

-

 

Instead of carefree, content, and excited Nelson Gavin finds himself leading a very strung out, stressed Nelson up the walkway towards his home. He hasn't given any indication to  _ why  _ he's so unhappy when Gavin is offering him such a treat, but he still smiled (although it was more subdued than the one at dinner, unfortunately) when Gavin mentioned calling a car to bring them to his house.

 

And yes, Gavin didn't prepare any sort of fanfare for the moment he revealed his arcade room to Nelson, but he expected the sheer number of machines to illicit more than a huff and Nelson, eyes closed and face creased with unhappiness, being terribly  _ ungrateful _ , not even  _ praising  _ Gavin for his impressive collection. He considers calling the night off right then and there.

 

“Okay, fuck, I'm sorry, this is,” Nelson opens his eyes and waves a hand towards the machines, “so  _ a _ _ wesome,  _ but I spent like,  _ an hour  _ arguing with Richard this morning and it kind of fucked up my whole day, you know?”

 

_ Of course _ , Gavin thinks, mentally preparing a tirade against Richard's person, his company, and his fucking knack for ruining e verything Gavin wants in life.

 

But Nelson continues before Gavin can even start. “So, like, can we just,  _ play _ ? And not talk about him? He's not an unreasonable guy usually, but,” Nelson shakes his head. “Do you have a Mario cabinet? I'm feeling platformers right now.”

 

He has  _ two,  _ but he directs Nelson to the older machine closer to the wet bar. Nelson proposes they switch whenever someone loses a life, which results in Gavin finishing the majority of the levels, but Nelson's shoulders begin to relax somewhere around world two, and he's cheering Gavin on by world four.

 

Although apparently his level of chill seems to have no influence on his skill as a platformer. “Fuck,” Nelson shakes his head and steps aside so Gavin can take over  _ again  _ but Gavin shakes his head. “What now?”

 

“Your timing is  _ terrible,  _ here,” Gavin moves him back in front of the machine and stands, with a reasonable amount of space of course, but also close enough so he can rest his hands over Nelson's on the jump button and joystick. “Here, run, and you have to jump right at the edge.”

 

Nelson nods, suddenly quiet, and Gavin takes a tiny step back to restore Nelson's personal space bubble, but he stays right behind him to aid his jumping, because directly in front of the screen is the ideal place to view the map, and he's not going to compromise his ability by standing at an  _ angle.  _ Still, the half step was apparently sufficient, and Nelson starts animatedly chattering as he,  _ finally _ , finishes a level on his own.

 

He was honestly dazing out because Gavin has no idea what music Nelson is talking about, but he tunes back in when the topic goes back to that little prick Nelson calls his best friend. Gavin has often contemplated what Richard must have done to achieve that kind of relationship with Nelson, and whether or not it was all above board. “Richard's all like, just  _ don't  _ use EndFrame, but fuck, he's asking me to ignore the board and basically  _ throw away  _ my job and, well, I don't see  _ him  _ doing that for me, you know?” Gavin briefly considers venting his frustrations about Richard, but Nelson, once again, continues without allowing commentary. “I mean, I'm glad he finally learned to think of himself first, because otherwise he'll get stomped on for the rest of his life, but there's a difference between that and asking everyone to throw their lives away so he can have what he wants.”

 

Gavin takes a moment to recall that memory about referring to himself and Richard as being 'a lot alike', and he's about halfway through deciding if this is a similarity or a difference when a sharp, “fuck me,” thoroughly startles him from his thoughts.

 

“What the fuck.”

 

“It's a boat level, and I  _ suck  _ at those,” Right, the game. Gavin remembers Nelson's performance on pretty much every level being particularly dismal, and realizes he better be prepared to carry the team again. “Can you help again? With the timing part, it's the jumping that gets me.”

 

“Of course,” Gavin moves in closer again, and makes a mental note that this time Nelson doesn't seem at all bothered that his personal space is being invaded, and with his hands over Nelson's, Gavin helps him navigate through the rest of this world's levels.

 

-

 

The next time they go to dinner Gavin brings his mail along and sorts through it as Nelson reads over the menu. Normally he would have finished this  _ hours  _ ago but there was a problem downstairs in the Nucleus workspace (unfortunately  _ not  _ caused by Pete but one of these days Gavin's going to have a good excuse to fire him) and it took almost two hours to sort through the issue with their framework.

 

He's not pleased to admit  _ Pete  _ may have been part of the reason they were successful, but he's not going to lie and say he didn't point out a minor flaw. If anything he's peeved he didn't find the issue  _ sooner  _ so Gavin could actually enjoy his dinner instead of dealing with all of this clerical work.

 

The only reason he isn't leaving it for his assistant is because he's expecting a letter from a particularly noteworthy foundation he recently donated to, and he's assuming they'll want him there to give some sort of speech. And the sooner he gets his conformation the sooner he can get the rough draft on his computer up to his standards while also meeting whatever criteria the foundation has.

 

“Should I start doing my mail at dinner too?”

 

“Only if you're expecting something,” Gavin murmurs, taking a moment to read the return address, and tossing it to the table without bothering to open it; he's never gone before, so why would he start going to the festival now?

 

“What's that?” Nelson points and Gavin grunts, already moving on to a few letters detailing his finances, all still in order and progressing nicely. “The Cannes Film Festival?”

 

“An invitation to attend, but don't waste your time opening it. I haven't gone any of the other years-”

 

“What!?” Gavin sets down his papers and looks up, watching as Nelson stares at him, looking very betrayed and hurt, which makes  _ no  _ sense. “You've been invited to the International-”

 

“Cannes.”

 

“ _ This  _ for years? And you've never gone!?” Nelson shakes his head and tears into the envelope. “Well, fuck, you better book a plane, because I  _ cannot  _ let you ignore what an awesome gift you're shitting all over holy shit there's two invitations in here.”

 

“I take it you're interested.” Nelson looks like he would murder their waiter to make Gavin say yes. “We'll have to check the dates.”

 

-

 

Gavin doesn't usually announce his sizable donations to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, although he's certain that word gets around when you donate amounts in the upper hundred thousands every year. Does he accept the praise and recognition? Of course. But he's not actively seeking it from the people he's just successfully dazzled with his speech.

 

As he walks across the stage and over to his table he notes Patrice, smiling and chatting with a waiter, and Nelson's chair being suspiciously empty. And he's not disappointed that Nelson may have missed his speech, because that's ridiculous and childish and he is  _ enlightened  _ and  _ mature  _ and perfectly capable of understanding exactly why Nelson wouldn't be in his seat. Obviously Gavin's introduction was just  _ that  _ emotional, and he needed to excuse himself.

 

And it isn't like he hasn't been making Nelson listen to him practice different parts of his speech, and he's more than willing to take time to give it again if Nelson asks. Gavin decides to wait patiently at the table until Nelson turns up.

 

The moment he sees Nelson across the room at a table with none other than those Pied Piper assholes Gavin's fairly certain his vision goes a bit red, but he sits calmly, hands on his lap and certainly not digging into his knees, because that would ruin the fabric of his tailored suit.

 

Gavin devises a course of action quickly; he decides to gradually mingle his way over to the table and see what's caused Nelson to defect to Pied Piper's table. It goes well, although he's fairly certain it should have taken him longer to cross the room than the couple of minutes, and Gavin isn't entirely certain he remembers speaking with any of the other notable people that were in between him and Nelson.

 

But the moment he's within earshot he turns around and feigns interest in one of the paintings, because Nelson is most definitely  _ quietly yelling  _ at Richard, and Gavin wants to know why, and  _ maybe  _ he's getting a certain amount of satisfaction from listening to Nelson stand up for himself.

 

“Dude, can you please  _ chill _ ? I know you've got a fucked history, okay? But  _ fuck  _ if it wasn't for Gavin I would've been fired  _ ages  _ ago, I didn't know what the fuck I was doing.”

 

Damn  _ right  _ Gavin saved his ass. It's almost like he's a  _ nice guy  _ sometimes. He has his moments.

 

“You would've learned, probably.” Gavin scoffs, although he keeps himself removed from the conversation. “It can't be  _ that  _ hard, and he's such a jerk.”

 

“Oh yeah? At least  _ he  _ didn't ask me to  _ throw away my job  _ just because we hired EndFrame.” Gavin hears the chair scrape against the floor and he starts meandering away from the table. “I'm going to get back over there. See you.”

 

He feels a warmth in his chest, and Gavin lets a smirk change his neutral expression, one Nelson returns when he sees Gavin as he leaves the Pied Piper table. This isn't a feeling he's felt in ages, but it's comfortable, and familiar. He's pleased to realize this now instead of making a fool of himself in the unlikely scenario that he'd have to  _ ask  _ Nelson if he's interpreting things incorrectly, which he's certain he  _ isn't _ , Gavin is excellent at interpreting these types of situations.

 

The feeling is friendship.

 

-

 

Perhaps it isn't just friendship.

 

To be clear, Gavin is certain there are  _ also  _ feelings of friendship between him and Nelson. Small talk, comfortable chatter, plenty of  _ friendly  _ conversations over dinner, yes he can safely say they are friends, but maybe there’s a bit more to it than that.

 

Obviously he didn't come to this conclusion without some intense meditation, but the answer is clear to him now. Nelson sees him as a role model.

 

Clearly, Nelson idolizes him, and Gavin is going to have to tread lightly, because hero-worship can cloud thoughts, and he'd hate if Nelson also became one of those incessant yes-men Gavin's come to loathe.

 

So far, based on Nelson's chastising of Gavin's 'poor' decisions to ignore his past invitations to the film festival, he is not completely clouded by his admiration for Gavin's skill and technological prowess.

 

“And you could have gone for  _ years _ ,” Nelson slumps in his reclining plane seat, halfheartedly throwing one of the many pillows Gavin keeps available in his private jet for  _ personal comfort  _ and  _ not _ assaulting the owner of the plane, “I can't believe no one else told you to  _ go _ .”

 

“I'm sure someone told me it would be entertaining,” Gavin offers. Although he's not terribly committed to his argument. Nelson is certainly excited enough for the both of them, and some of it  _ may  _ be rubbing off on Gavin. “No one did it quite so  _ emotionally  _ but I suppose everyone has to have their quirks.”

 

“Quirks? You're fucking with me right? This is  _ the  _ biggest festival of the  _ entire year,  _ and I  _ never thought I would go. _ ” Nelson squirms in his seat and looks out the window for what must be the twentieth time this hour. “Plus I've never been to Europe. And so it's like two bucket list items  _ at once _ . Can you see the Eiffel tower from a plane?”

 

“We're not staying in Paris.” Nelson actually has the audacity to  _ pout,  _ which definitely does not have the intended effect because it just makes Gavin laugh quietly at Nelson's expense. “Lyon is lovely this time of year, and less crowded than Paris. Summer breaks are just starting after all.”

 

“I guess.”

 

“We'll be in Paris the day before.” Gavin opens up a couple tabs on his tablet and hands it to Nelson. “These are our hotels.”

 

“These websites are in French,” Nelson grumbles as he attempts to navigate the websites, which apparently doesn't go well, “can you just  _ tell me  _ about them?”

 

“They're  _ five star hotels,  _ and they have spas. And beds, which I'm sure is one of your main concerns.”

 

“That's true,” Nelson hands the tablet back and closes his eyes. “Is there some sort of itinerary you're keeping a secret or is this a 'one day at a time' kind of trip?”

 

It genuinely had not occurred to Gavin that Nelson might be expecting some sort of scheduled outing while in Lyon. The last time Gavin went to France he spent one day in an art museum and the rest just relaxing in various locations, mostly the spa and his hotel, which had a very nice view and no people trying to bother him.

 

“You've never been to France, correct?”

 

“Yeah, never left the US actually.” Nelson reopens his eyes and glances out the window  _ again  _ and sighs. “Just clouds.”

 

“That's usually how flying works,” Gavin explains while pulling up a list of venues and activities he's personally experienced and deemed  _ acceptable  _ to repeat in his lifetime. “Here, see if anything interests you. The pilot will announce the descent, and  _ then  _ you'll probably be able to see something out the window.”

 

-

 

Jet lag thoroughly destroys Nelson for the first day. It isn't terribly surprising; Gavin's seen Nelson have to take a nap in the middle of the day when they  _ haven't  _ left their time zone, and now they're on the opposite side of the globe. He spends most of the day napping in his room of their suite.

 

Gavin had intended to book two rooms but the hotel is rather popular and school has apparently let out in enough places to make that intention impossible, but the rooms are a decent distance apart, both have their own bathroom, and even though Gavin disagrees Nelson assures him over and over that it’s perfectly fine.

 

Gavin is well aware that people talk, and Gavin’s not in the mood to deal with a bunch of  _ untrue  _ rumors when he gets back from his trip, but they’re friends, and it’s apparently perfectly acceptable for friends to share a room to “save money” or some other ridiculous reason. Honestly if people don’t have the money  _ why  _ are they bothering to travel in the first place?

 

Most of Gavin’s day is spent alone, taking his own time to adjust to the time change with a massage and plenty of time meditating alone in the center of his bed, and he has to admit he does find this trip to be a welcome change from their current daily routine.

 

But because the world doesn’t stop just because they leave the country Gavin takes the time to read a few messages he’s received from work. It’s the one condition he and Nelson agreed to, and it’s reasonable enough given the absence of  _ both  _ CIOs, but Gavin isn’t sure  _ what  _ Nucleus thinks he’s planning on doing to fix their current issue with scaling, but it certainly isn’t to fly back and give them all a pep talk.

 

He’s sitting at a table by some of the large picture windows, composing an email to his team to reassure them of their abilities (for all of their sakes they better realize he’s counting on those abilities) when Nelson wobbles in, looking bleary but upright, dressed down in only pajama pants and a tee shirt for something called They Might Be Giants. He’s not entirely certain what that means.

 

He has very petite feet.

 

Not important right now.

 

“Are you planning on being nocturnal for the duration of this trip?”

 

“Naw I’ll still sleep tonight,” Nelson drops himself into a chair and sighs, “wanted to get a little sun, you know? Before it sets.”

 

“Well you’re getting about ten minutes worth,” Gavin notes by the little sun app on his tablet.

 

“Cool, I’ve done worse.” Gavin isn’t certain he wants to know what constitutes as  _ worse  _ in this situation to Nelson so he turns back to his tablet to finish up his emails. “Nice view. Didn’t really notice when we first got here.”

 

“I’m fairly certain you were  _ asleep _ when we first got here,” and he’s damn lucky Gavin took the time and energy to guide Nelson to a bed instead of just letting him fall wherever he dropped. “The city starts lighting up around this time.”

 

Nelson abandons the table in favor of sitting cross legged in front of the giant window and looking out at the city. Gavin actually considers joining him for a moment, but it’s a ludicrous idea. He’s perfectly capable but sitting on the floor isn’t terribly comfortable, and besides, he needs to finish up with these emails.

 

Realistically, half of the emails are Nelson’s responsibility, but Gavin doesn’t have it in him to disrupt the peaceful look on his face as he watches the streetlights turn on one by one, so he settles with turning his chair a few inches so he’s facing the window and continues with his work.

 

He’ll make Nelson answer all of their emails tomorrow.

 

-

 

Nelson patters around the art museum in a state somewhere between bored and listless, not openly complaining but not looking all that thrilled to be there, one arm curled up and bent at a ninety degree angle and fingers curled as if they’re around a phantom big gulp. He’s at least being  _ courteous _ to the other patrons, he hasn’t touched his phone once and he’s been quiet as he wanders from room to room, completely ignoring the natural flow of the museum in favor of… well Gavin honestly isn’t sure what Nelson is getting out of this little trip but he’s going to assume it isn’t enjoyment.

 

But Gavin is his mentor, and as a mentor Gavin likes to add a bit of culture to his mentee’s life, meaning they’re going to continue walking around (being seen at such a prestigious museum) and taking in as much culture and refined media as possible.

 

When Gavin was younger he certainly got his fill of art museums and concerts, they all start to blend together after enough time passes, but that’s why his major focus is Nelson, and making sure he behaves himself during their visit. Gavin’s cultured enough for  _ several  _ lifetimes anyway.

 

“I’ve always liked that,” he whispers, which Gavin didn’t even have to tell him to do, and he feels a note of pride as Nelson stands in front of a very monochromatic but aesthetically pleasing piece, “the like, color gradients. Light to dark shi-stuff.”

 

“You’d be a fan of Rothko’s works if that’s the case.”

 

“The squares guy? Yeah.” Gavin is stunned to learn Nelson apparently has a foundation of culture in him, but he shakes his head and powers through the amazement, because even an interested Nelson apparently doesn’t stand in front of a painting for long. “My dad’s a history nut, brought me to a sh-can I swear in here?”

 

“You’re already whispering, but I’d err on the cautious side.”

 

“Right, okay, whatever, so he gets like, admission free pretty much everywhere, history guru or something like that, and brought me to a bunch of places. Told me I liked art that like, lets me zone out. Simple shit.”

 

Gavin rolls his eyes at the infinitesimal amount of time it took for Nelson to forget his advice about not swearing, but the other part, the apparent meditative state Nelson reaches when he looks at art,  _ that’s  _ certainly an interesting trait. Nelson just may pull off eccentric young genius yet.

 

“Seriously, put me in front of a painting that’s like, all blue, and I’ll zone out for hours. It’s kind of nice.”

 

Listening to Nelson admit that he enjoys meditation, even if he doesn’t realize that’s what he’s been doing all this time, is certainly a pleasant surprise, possibly the best one this entire trip.

 

-

 

Gavin is going to have to do a few stress reducing exercises in order to get through the last few days of their trip.

 

Cannes. A lovely city.  But crowded. Gavin is  _ not  _ thrilled by the throngs of people bumping into him,  _ ruining  _ his day and not even having the decency to acknowledge his presence. Honestly, he’s a well known public figure, and all these  _ people  _ are just  _ elbowing his side  _ and not even using it as an excuse to introduce themselves. The nerve of some people.

 

But the quiet, subdued Nelson from yesterday is gone and replaced with, well Gavin likens him to a small child at a carnival, but it’s not quite the same. Nelson is still reserved, still containing his excited energy to the small area of space around him as he squirms in his seat, but he’s talking  _ non-stop  _ and already planning on seeing every film he can, because apparently  _ this  _ kind of fine art is more his speed.

 

Gavin should have realized, really, given his little library of music and dvds he insists on playing in their office, his suggestion of movie Fridays at Hooli out on the lawn, the sodas,  _ clearly  _ Nelson is just meant to live in a movie theatre. Or perhaps at least own one. Not a terrible idea if Nelson shows any interest in investing in an outside business.

 

But, as luck would have it, even Nelson gets burned out on people eventually even if they are watching movies together, and Gavin is able to drag him away from the festival long enough to check into their hotel room in Cannes.

 

Room.

 

As in, this hotel also didn’t allow him to book two rooms during the film festival, and he is a bit peeved (livid) at the lack of courtesy he’s being given in France.

 

He’s already considered never returning again, but he has a sinking feeling that A) he  _ will  _ be getting more invitations to Cannes in the future, and B) a certain someone is  _ not  _ going to let him ignore those invitations when they arrive. C) he’s maybe enjoying himself, just a bit. Most of the films being shown are at least _supposed_ to be of good quality, and day one suggests that the standards are up to par.

 

This room, this  _ suite  _ as it was called, is definitely  _ not  _ up to par, and Gavin has enough righteous fury in his bones to verbally burn down the entire hotel, but Nelson takes  _ zero  _ time making himself at home as he tosses his bag and shoes across the room and throws himself onto one of the loveseats near the window.

 

“I still cannot  _ believe  _ you never came here before this year,” and Gavin is beginning to see why as he stares at the  **_one_ ** bed in the hotel room, “so is there like, another part to this room or-”

 

“I’ll be downstairs,  _ complaining  _ about that, if you’ll excuse me.”

 

“No, woah hey it’s cool. See, I’m short so couches like this work fine.” Nelson does manage to stretch out fully on the couch, and the bottom of his shirt bunches up at he settles on his back. “See? No problem. I can sleep on the floor pretty easy too.”

 

Gavin still goes downstairs.

 

Well, he goes out into the hall, and he  _ intends  _ to go downstairs, but he pauses at the elevator, and thinks. Nelson is currently jumping through hoops to let them share a room, ergo, Nelson  _ wants  _ to share a room, and clearly, obviously, it’s so he can spend as much time with his mentor as possible. It is refreshing to know Nelson sees their shared time as valuable, and is taking the extra steps needed to maximize that time together.

 

Perhaps Gavin should plan some sort of ‘life coaching’ they can discuss tonight. Nelson’s become very business savvy thanks to Gavin, but he must think there’s more room for improvement in other areas of his life.

 

But Gavin was also getting rather amped up about this complaint, so he takes it in another direction and guarantees the both of them a private massage in the hotel spa, complimentary of course.

 

-

 

Day two passes uneventfully, although Nelson has been a bit listless compared to day one of the festival. Listless is still rather energetic, but he does request more caffeine than the day before, more than he’s actually had in awhile if Gavin remembers correctly.

 

Day three finds Nelson asleep at their breakfast table, which is just a horrible oversight on his part, and a backpedaling of  _ at least  _ five different lessons on etiquette and manners. But Nelson insists he’s fine after his nap at the table, and he does manage to make it through the festival without falling asleep in public, but only just.

 

“If you’re starting to get some sort of illness I’d recommend you stay at the hotel tomorrow.”

 

“No, I’m just,” he yawns  _ right  _ in Gavin’s face, “tired. Super tired, actually. The couch is, um, well you know how older homes have that like, useless couch by the front door? It’s like that.”

 

Gavin understands that this isn’t a  _ personal  _ dig to his own foyer, but he makes a note to possibly update his home in the near future. He also assumes Nelson means the couch looks nice, but isn’t terribly comfortable. Which leaves him with very few options…

 

“This is a king sized bed, right?”

 

Gavin does not foresee a restful night’s sleep in his future.

 

-

 

Gavin wakes feeling rather well rested, and he’s not at all certain what that means regarding his current sleeping arrangements.

 

He does give credit where credit is due, Nelson promised to stay on his side, and even though Gavin considered constructing some sort of barrier out of pillows he finds his personal space undisturbed. He always imagined Nelson would be a much more haphazard sleeper, but he’s well contained, and curled around one of the bed’s many pillows. Gavin hazards a guess that, especially after not sleeping well two nights in a row, Nelson isn’t going to be getting up anytime soon.

 

It isn’t a complete loss, and Gavin only gets an hour into meditating at the foot of the bed before Nelson stretches out and rolls into the middle, somehow managing to take up an entire king sized mattress with just his compact self.

 

“Mornin’,” he sits up long enough to fall forward onto his face at the foot of the bed, “s’late?”

 

“Ten,” Gavin answers curtly, and not at all concerned by the part where Nelson managed to lose his shirt overnight. And he’s certainly not worried about the whereabouts of any of Nelson’s other clothing articles.

 

“Cool,” Nelson rolls out of bed and  _ does not have pants  _ but he is wearing shorts or possibly boxers, Gavin doesn’t take the time to determine which and instead settles in for a long meditation session while Nelson busies himself with getting ready.

 

-

 

Nelson’s been avoiding him.

 

Correction, additional facts, Nelson’s been avoiding him since they returned from France. And it’s that that Gavin is feeling  _ bitter _ or anything, but really is this how Nelson’s generation treats their mentors?

 

It  _ may  _ have something to do with their ah, unintentional proximity one of the nights, something Gavin assured him was merely an accident and most likely Nelson seeking some sort of heat in his sleep, nothing to be concerned about, but Nelson was terribly quiet their last day at the festival, and upon returning to the states he immediately claimed he needed to return to his apartment to  _ do some shit. _

 

And his VPs don’t know  _ shit.  _ He is not sitting around in their office  _ moping.  _ He’s just processing this change in their rapport like an  _ adult. _

 

He’s certainly not  _ pouting. _

 

“Say, Gavin?” Perhaps he was a bit too deep in thought, because Gavin didn’t hear Nelson enter the office, “say, you’re… uh why are you making that face?”

 

“ _ What face _ ?”

 

“Jeez, okay,” Nelson crosses the main area of the office and stands beside Gavin’s desk, “so, this is you being pissed off right? About the whole…” he gestures to himself, and then to Gavin, and back, “that, right?”

 

“Your behavior has been uncharacteristically  _ cold  _ recently.”

 

“I’m- okay, sure, I guess I kind of backed off. Did some thinking. And, well fuck it, I guess this is only bad if I’m  _ wrong,  _ so-”

 

Nelson kisses him.

 

Just, out of the blue, no warning,  _ obviously  _ no signs that this was on his mind at all, but Gavin is certain he’ll manage the drastic change from mentor to, what, partner? That sounds about right.

 

Somehow, really it’s a mystery, but Nelson’s managed to end up in Gavin’s lap, which isn’t really a problem but it is certainly  _ new.  _ “So uh, did you have like, any idea I would do that?”

 

“I’m fairly certain I  _ didn’t _ .” And Gavin would have noticed- why is Nelson laughing?

 

“Oh my god, okay, so like, you’re smart and all but you can be super fucking  _ dense  _ sometimes.”

 

“I don’t see what gave you that idea.”

 

“Holy- oh-kay, so, we took a vacation together?”

 

“Plenty of people do that, Nelson.” And here Gavin thought  _ Nelson _ of all people would be familiar with this concept.

  
“To  _ France _ ? For  _ two weeks _ ?”

 

Perhaps that is a bit unusual.

 

“Never mind, really, it’s  _ fine _ , Jesus, I feel kind of proud of myself, you know? For figuring this out first.”

 

Gavin’s certainly never going to admit to that in any capacity.

 

“Just, it’s cool, awesome, really, and hey, I guess we shouldn’t uh, I think Gary would have a heart attack if he caught us doing this here, so, um… my place?”


End file.
